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This article reflects my opinion on the current Hamas-Israeli conflict. The background of the conflict is complex and multifaceted, with the Israelis and Palestinians holding valid arguments. However, the attack on Israel by Hamas on Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday on Saturday the 7th of October 2023, was barbarism in the nth degree. Not only did Hamas commit atrocities against Israelis, but they also committed atrocities against their people.
Hamas knew the response that the attack would provoke from Israel, but in a callous act of political Jujitsu (Moskalenko & McCauley, 2020), they attacked, in my opinion, to provoke and create an overreactive response and mass collateral damage among their population to radicalise more people to their organisation.
Now, I understand the background and history of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelites and empathise with the people of Gaza and Israel. Still, I cannot justify deliberate acts of violence.
We are seeing the effects of this calculated terror now. Israel is being demonised for its response, an emotional, over-the-top one of military actions in civilian areas and military ones. In effect, Hamas's strategy worked for them. They prompted an overzealous response likely to radicalise many more Gazans to their cause.
Israel must stop the knee-jerk responses and understand the Hamas strategy: they are being played. With surgical precision, Israel must formulate and effect a strategy that does not play into Hamas's narrative. Do not fuel the Hamas propaganda machine nor allow Hamas to control the global narrative.
I think that this conflict serves as a prime example of memetic warfare, one that Hamas is acting as the conductor of the memetic symphony at the current moment, as many people have already lost sight of the horrendous act of terrorism inflicted on Israel and are solely focused on Israel's over-the-top emotionally baited response. In effect, Hamas currently control the narrative: even some governments like Ireland's have condemned Israel's response.
Please – let rationality reign – do not allow a terrorist group to control the narrative for the sake of Israelis and Palestinians: I beg of you.
References
RTE News. (2023). Israel cannot breach international law - Taoiseach. Retrieved from https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2023/1012/1410525-israel-gaza-robinson/
Moskalenko, S., & McCauley, C. (2020, August 27). Radicalization to Terrorism: What Everyone Needs to Know. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Radicalization-Terrorism-Everyone-Needs-Know%C2%AE/dp/0190862580